HATFIELD — Town Hall is closer to getting $2 million in upgrades following Wednesday’s special Town Meeting.
More than 100 people filled the cafeteria at the Elementary School, requiring extra rows of chairs to be added and some residents to stand.
Residents turned out to vote on two money articles that would improve accessibility and fire safety at Town Hall. With the approval of both articles, the $1,325,000 authorization would be paired with $690,000 available from prior funding authorizations.
Receiving six votes more than the needed two-thirds majority, voters approved Article 1, which authorized a debt exclusion to borrow $1 million to pay for the second phase of Town Hall renovations.
The project will include the construction of an exterior ramp, an elevator and a fire suppression system to bring the 59 Main St. building up to code compliance
After two voice votes, a standing vote was held to determine the exact number of voters.
The final tally was 86 to 33 in favor.
Although Article 1 passed Wednesday, it will not go into effect unless voters approve Question 5 on the Nov. 8 ballot, which calls for a Proposition 2½ debt-exclusion override.
Speaking against the article, resident Lary Grossman, said it was “an unnecessary project” and there was no threat of the town being fined for code violations.
Resident Amy Hahn objected to Grossman’s idea, which he had expressed in detail in a letter to the editor, that ramps would make the building compliant, even without an elevator.
“We will not be in compliance and we will be fined,” she said. “They take this very, very seriously … I think it’s foolhardy to think we won’t be fined if we aren’t in compliance.”
Hahn also noted that the article covered monies for fire suppression.
“I don’t think we want to have inadequate fire suppression in the building,” she said.
Resident Mike Cahill questioned why the $850,000 amount for the project from the Town Meeting in May had grown to $1 million.
“There obviously is a significant difference in increased cost in a six-month period,” he said. “I think more importantly, the article in May was defeated, and so my question tonight, why wouldn’t the town defeat this one?
“I think the reason it was defeated in May, (was) concern on the part of the Council on Aging. They weren’t consulted. Their needs weren’t completely understood. That had to take place.”
Cahill questioned whether the two articles relating to the Town Hall renovations could be tied together to satisfy both the council’s needs as well as complete code compliance improvements.
Both Town Clerk Lydia Szych and Select Board member Marcus Boyle ruled that it would not be possible.
Voters also authorized a debt exclusion in the amount of $325,000, subject to adoption of a ballot question at a special election, to construct a second external ramp to the basement and complete work on the Council on Aging’s kitchen.
The article was ultimately amended by Cahill, and approved by voters, to include language that both the building inspector’s and Board of Health offices would be relocated, and the space the offices vacated would be “added and dedicated to meet the needs of the Council on Aging.”
During the discussion of the amendment, one resident asked how the council, as well as the Board of Health felt about the amendment.
Kerry Flaherty, a member of both organizations, said the council needed its kitchen space, and as long as the Board of Health was kept in the Town Hall, moving its offices somewhere else in the building didn’t make a difference.
“Our seniors deserve the space downstairs,” Flaherty said.
Resident George Zgrodnik brought a moment of levity to the discussion when he asked why the seniors, who are currently housed in the basement, were kept underground.
“I mean, think about it, these people are elderly. They haven’t got a window to look out,” he said. “They are going to be underground a long time.”
Zgrodnik used the comment to highlight the option of moving the Council on Aging into another building, which by his accounting would cost around $400,000 for the building and $100,000 for renovations.
“Are we going to keep dumping money into the cellar? These people deserve better,” he said. “They don’t belong in a cellar.”
The third article, which amended an article from Town Meeting in May to rescind the borrowing authorization of $200,000 for asbestos and lead paint removal as well as other necessary environmental cleanup at the former Center School, passed almost unanimously.
Emily Cutts can be reached at ecutts@gazettenet.com.